His disciples gave huge amounts of cash to their figurehead and lost contact with their families. Eventually, the resistance proved too much for the group. Total equality. As a child, she became so lonely she would talk to the taps in the bathroom, and tried to make friends with the rats and mice that scuttled into the kitchen. A meeting was taking place the following week and Haworth was invited along. Yes! Reverend Jones wanted to create a glorious sacrifice, a defiant act of “revolutionary suicide” that would echo through history. He was finally free of them. Sometimes they will promise success, artistic or creative talent, fulfil a desire in their targets to effect social change or, as with Haworth, to “give something back” to the world. They’re what Haworth calls therapy cults, as opposed to the religious cults that offer more spiritual promises. “People used to say, ‘If there’s summat up, then tha’ does summat about it’. The dramatic reenactments in this documentary are actually quite good, ramping up the tension until the inevitable demise of the People’s Temple members. TVPG Documentaries TV Series • 2018. hd; You May Also Like. 40 years ago, over 900 members of the Peoples Temple, living in the Jonestown settlement in Guyana, consumed a deadly cyanide-laced drink on the orders of leader Jim Jones. You gotta read books written by the survivors to get the whole story. Rent American Experience: Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) on DVD and Blu-ray. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. We don’t have the answers, despite our addiction to brainwashing-themed programming, but maybe the following docs do. With Rebecca Moore, Janet Shular, Tim Carter, Stanley Clayton. From Scientology to salvation in Jesus Christ, from Kool-Aid to killer abs, we've seemingly watched every documentary on the subject — and if they hadn't been so fascinatingly depressing, maybe we'd be ready to start our own. And besides, it’s worth it just to see Theroux’s hysterically awkward interviews with current members, including actress Paz de la Huerta, who shows up in her underwear. She said: “Your treatment of her from her birth to the age of 26 was a catalogue of mental and physical abuse. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh relocated his followers there in the 80s in search of enlightenment and utopia, but in episode one we’re already being told by the FBI that the move resulted in the largest poisoning case in the USA (amongst other truly awful things). A survivor of the Jonestown massacre returns to the site 10 years later and discovers the cult's former home has become a breeding ground for the supernatural. If you’re born into a cult you don’t have that ‘Real Ian’ vs ‘Cult Ian’ internal battle that I had. She says she was locked overnight in a rat-infested cellar to “meditate about death”. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? As this documentary doesn't show even half of the stuff that went on in the People's Temple long before they even got to Jonestown. During a break he went into the corridor for a cigarette, and that’s when the cult members pounced. Directed by Andrew Jones. Related post: The Best True Crime Documentaries of All Time Cults often thrive on feeding into people’s desires. As the head of the UK-based Cult Information Centre, he spends his life collating information on cults, offering advice and help to those who have escaped – or wish to – and campaigns for stricter legislation to control the reach and influence of these malign groups. Cults are very much back in the public eye at the moment, due in no small part to the documentary series Wild Wild Country, which debuted on Netflix in March. Scientology seems like a great place to start in your cult film (sorry) marathon, being perhaps the most well-publicized and well-funded secret society of modern times. With Jim Jones, Frank Reynolds, John Moscatelli, Grace Stoen. To live in a heartless society after experience this trauma can only have been torture. Fast, free delivery. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. They will promise freedom from addictions or improved physical or mental health. Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch. STARRING. Sidney Katz put Haworth in touch with a TV producer called Peter Scott and together they set up what was first called the Council for Mind Abuse, and which later metamorphosed into the Cult Information Centre in 1987, now run as a charity. So I did summat about it.”. Unlike many appalled at the mass deaths that saw bodies piled up around the remote settlement dubbed “Jonestown”, Haworth was thinking: “That could have been me.”. Haworth doesn’t know where they are now, or if they still exist. Subscribe to our email list for notifications of new documentaries and what you should be watching! Yes! “You emerge from that and the first question is… who am I? Cults change their names often, to keep one step ahead of the media or inquisitive minds, and to muddy the paper trail they leave behind. Aravindan Balakrishnan, known as ‘Comrade Bala’ within the women-only collective he founded 40 years ago, carried out a brutal campaign of sexual degradation against the women over several decades. This is a Netflix documentary that you will never forget…definitely add it to your queue. In this picture, he stands with some of his cult followers including his daughter. Nothing about modern life and its complexities has inured us against the attractions of a charismatic guru or cult leader. 1-month free trial! Ted ‘Black Lightning’ Patrick started an anti-cult crusade in the 1970s, at times snatching cult members so they could be forcibly mentally reprogrammed, with the help of friends and family, into non-cultists. Jonestown: Paradise Lost (2007) is available on Netflix since . What he didn’t foresee, obviously, was the descent into moral panic, poisoning, and immigration fraud, culminating in both the locals and the Rajneeshees forming militias. On 18 November 1978, over 900 men, women and children lost their lives at Jonestown, a remote settlement established by the People's Temple in northern Guyana. They care about money, and controlling people, and power.”. Forty years on from America’s most infamous massacre, this harrowing documentary traces the Rev Jim Jones’s suicide sect – and hears from the handful who made it out alive What does it take to get someone to leave a cult? This particular flick, starting with it's title, implies that everything was fine until they got to Jonestown when the last stop is what it really was. Fast, free delivery. “I suppose that was the moment I went over to them – they had done what they said they would do.”. In 1978, cult leader Jim Jones lures his followers to Jonestown, Guyana where they commit mass suicide of … Released 40 years after the events of the 1978 Jonestown mass murder-suicide that killed more than 900 Americans, this four-part documentary tells the history of the the Peoples Temple … You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Jonestown was envisaged as a “rainbow family” of all ages and races, the preacher had promised them: “Divine principles. They had been persuaded to “drink the Kool-Aid”, Flavor Aid, used to mask the bitter taste of cyanide, mixed with a dash of Valium. Just like everything else, cults are a reflection of their times, and the story of the primary color clad Rajneeshees is no different. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, and the free-love community which was built up around him in Oregon in the 1980s. Morgan-Davies managed to flee the cult in 2013 after 30 years – her entire life. A documentary on the 40th anniversary of the largest murder-suicide in American history, when over 900 members of the Peoples Temple consumed a deadly cyanide-laced drink on the orders of leader Jim Jones; interviews with Jones' two surviving sons. “Toronto wasn’t big enough for the both of us,” he smiles. Documentary. I was planning to sneak away at the end, because I’d been brought up to be polite and didn’t want to just walk out. No late fees. They were appalled at the change in him, but, he says, “I thought they were wrong, I knew they weren’t part of the elite, like I was.”. One month free trial! Cult leader Jim Jones leads his followers to a mass-suicide. America's Book of Secrets. Jonestown: Paradise Lost (2007) is available on Netflix since . With Vernon Gosney, Leslie Wagner-Wilson, Tim Carter, Jim Jones Jr.. Docuseries looking back on the Jonestown Massacre on the 40th anniversary. “They start off wanting the usual things,” says Haworth. Rajneesh, who died in 1990, was a charismatic Indian guru (who relocated to the US after the Indian government frowned upon his activities). A society where people own all things in common, where there is no rich or poor, where there are no races.”. During his trial the judge said he had treated his daughter like “an experiment”. Katy Morgan-Davies last month published a book about her experiences living in Brixton with the cult leader – and her father – Aravindan Balakrishnan, who was jailed on charges of rape and imprisonment in 2015. I typically hate dramatic reenactments and everything else that’s in the realm of being cheesy and unnecessary, but said scenes in Jonestown totally work and the film is basically better for it. jonestown - Rent Movies and TV Shows on DVD and Blu-ray. With Derek Nelson, Andromeda Godfrey, Tiffany Ceri, William Meredith. Tim Reiterman. Jonestown: Paradise Lost. TV-14. And good sense would dictate that was the point he turned his back on cults forever and got on with his life. A Storyville documentary. “If you’re born into a cult you don’t have that ‘Real Ian’ vs ‘Cult Ian’ internal battle that I had,” says Haworth. He forced her to drink whiskey before making her walk in a straight line, which she says led to the liver damage she lives with to this day. She was banned from leaving the house unaccompanied and routinely psychologically and physically abused. A neighbour gave him a copy of the Toronto Star which had featured a front-page exposé of the group Haworth was involved in, written by the investigative reporter Sidney Katz. Here are the best documentaries on Netflix to watch if you’re cult obsessed. Forty years after the Jonestown massacre – one of the most horrific incidents in recent American history – a documentary will shine a light on cult leader Jim Jones and his followers.

During his trial the judge said he had treated his daughter like “an experiment”. Experts say that cults are most likely to be attractive to intelligent, well-educated people… they have flexible minds; can consider and be seduced by the alternative lifestyles offered by cults. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the movement he led have catapulted cults back into the spotlight, Rajneesh, also known as Osho, with his ‘Orange People’ followers, Katy Morgan-Davies, 33, formerly known as Rosie Davies, who was kept as a prisoner by her father Aravindan Balakrishnan (PA), After fleeing a cult in 1978, Ian Haworth has dedicated his life to helping others in the same situation. The Aravindan Balakrishnan case, and the revelations of Katy Morgan-Davies in her new book, add an extra dimension to Haworth’s work. Having seen Katz’s research and evidence first hand, at the invitation of the journalist, Haworth angrily confronted the cult’s leaders, and they effectively banished him. What sets this documentary apart, however, is the original footage in features shot by Will Allen, a member of the cult for two decades. One of the Cult Information Centre’s primary roles is working with ex-cult members. You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Why does it have to end in Kool-Aid and misery? And don’t think it is only stupid people who would fall for a cult. Haworth had seen his doctor not long before and been told if he carried on smoking like he did he’d be lucky to see 40. “I’ve dealt with more than 1,000 different cults,” says Haworth. After 30 years of being kept as a “slave”, she managed to escape in 2013 after memorising the number for an anti-slavery charity she saw on the news. Aged 31, he happened to be stopped by a woman with a clipboard in a Toronto street. He’d already looked into smoking-cessation courses that were of comparable cost, so decided he’d give this one a go. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Perhaps the best, and the one to drop into conversation with your friends if you want to inspire frothing at the mouth. “That includes the Rajneesh group. Didier adopted a 6-year-old girl, who he groomed to become his wife. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Forty years after the Jonestown massacre – one of the most horrific incidents in recent American history – a documentary will shine a light on cult leader Jim Jones and his followers. With Edith Bogue, Thom Bogue, Bob Brown, Loreatha Buckley. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. If cult documentaries are what you’re looking for, then Netflix’s newest cult addition – Wild Wild Country – needs to move to the top of your queue. Watch it now or check out the trailer first! “I turned up and there were about a hundred people there,” he says. He reportedly believed his daughter had been chosen as his protector, so sought to indoctrinate her and make her withstand torment by making her participate in cruel experiments. A documentary on the 40th anniversary of the largest murder-suicide in American history, when over 900 members of the Peoples Temple consumed a deadly cyanide-laced drink on the orders of leader Jim Jones. Fast, free delivery. 1978’s Jonestown massacre was one of the first times that cults entered the public imagination, after 909 extreme Marxist followers of Jim Jones died in Guyana after drinking Kool-Aid laced with poison. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. New Releases; Coming Soon; Popular Movies; TV Shows ; Family; Collections; Blu-ray; How it Works; Plans; Since 1998, DVD Netflix has been the premier DVD-by-mail rental service. But cults don’t have to follow the pattern of Rajneeshpuram, as the Oregon ranch was renamed, or the bloodbaths at Jonestown or Waco, where David Koresh’s sect the Branch Davidians was raided by the FBI in 1993. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. That includes the Rajneesh group. This, along with interviews with former acolytes documents their slow descent into madness, makes it a truly fascinating chronicle of cult life.

This particular flick, starting with it's title, implies that everything was fine until they got to Jonestown when the last stop is what it really was. “The course took place in September, 1978,” says Haworth. “That was in October,” he says. These people didn’t do that,” he says. Waco: what really happened when David Koresh’s cult faced the FBI? This was a tragedy that not many people know the full story of; I was glad to see a competent piece like this that serves to educate and move the audience. As this documentary doesn't show even half of the stuff that went on in the People's Temple long before they even got to Jonestown. “She was very attractive and I was very single,” remembers Haworth. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. When they finally counted the bodies after what would become known as the Jonestown massacre of 18 November 1978, the total came to 918, of whom 304 were children. This doc begs the question as to how or not Patrick’s large underground network followers became their own kind of cult. He would also like to see stronger laws to deal with cults; there’s no specific legislation surrounding them, and it’s only when cult leaders are discovered to have committed actual crimes, such as Aravindan Balakrishnan in 2015, that the law can act. The documentary not only covers the horrors of Ivan’s treatment of his captives, it also lays out the very real and difficult task that Israel has of locating and convicting war criminals. ... Have seen every Jonestown Documentary and they just rehash the same facts and same interviews. Wild Wild Country. Jonestown was truly the biggest political scandal in U.S. history. Then, after perhaps about 10 years, they start to believe the things they say, they maybe start to believe they are gods.”. With Rebecca Moore, Janet Shular, Tim Carter, Stanley Clayton. Incredibly, the leader they knew as “Andreas” still has a following in Hawaii, despite allegations of sexual abuse. Why did Jim Jones, a charismatic American preacher and leader of the People's Temple, compel his members in 1978 to perform 'revolutionary suicide' in northern Guyana? Besides, he soon had more than enough on his plate as more and more people began to get in touch, especially after he had relocated back to the UK.

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